The Dolphins had an extra coach on the field Friday for the start of their three-day rookie mini-camp.
That extra coach also happens to be the club's first-round draft pick and quarterback of the future. But Ryan Tannehill, who learned offensive coordinator Mike Sherman's playbook during their time together at Texas A&M, spent just as much time helping his new teammates Friday as he did working on his own game.
"Being in the offense for four years back at A&M, it's not my first go-around," Tannehill said. "So I'm trying to help these guys learn as much as I can. Just help speed their learning curve up."
Tannehill, the Aggies' starting quarterback the previous 1 ½ seasons, has a lot more than a rookie knowledge of the offense. He estimated that he already knows "80 to 85 percent" of the new playbook.
"I would probably say 65 to 70 is the exact same, pretty much, and the other 15 that I'm familiar with is pretty much just changing of a few words," he said. "But it's basically the exact same thing.
Coach Joe Philbin said Tannehill will be given the same opportunity to win the starting job as veterans Matt Moore and David Garrard, but shot down the notion that Tannehill knows more about the offense than the other two quarterbacks.
"Those guys have been working hard since April 10," Philbin said of Moore and Garrard. "At some point that knowledge is going to even itself out, and the difference is going to be the decision-making, the accuracy, the playmaking ability."
Typically, the main thing that holds back a rookie QB is his knowledge of his new team's offense. In this case, Tannehill is already as comfortable with the offense as his competition, so it's reasonable to believe that the team could hand over the reins if he proves he can make the proper reads and hit the open man as well as Matt Moore and David Garrard. Given the sad state of the WR corps, Tannehill will probably only be fantasy-relevant this season in two-QB leagues, but it's still a situation to monitor.
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